By Jeff Beals
The Boy Scouts have a great motto, which should be adopted by anyone interested in achieving success the sales world: “be prepared.”
The Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes said, “To be prepared is half the battle.” You never know when an opportunity will arise, so you must always be ready.
Not only must you always be positioned to embrace opportunity, you must also be prepared to deal with challenge.
On September 11, 2001, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani dealt with a challenge that no other municipal leader in U.S. history had ever faced. The savage terrorism at the World Trade Center that day stunned the world, but it did not destroy the spirit of New York City.
Some of the credit for New York’s steadfastness goes to its then-leader. In his book, Leadership, Giuliani said he was able to stay calm in the face of crisis because of preparation, which he defines as “not assuming a damn thing.” Giuliani goes further and advocates “relentless preparation,” which allows you to anticipate potential trouble before it arrives. Preparing for a wide-range of contingencies was a daily part of Giuliani’s tenure at mayor.
Hopefully, you will never have to lead a city through a 9/11-like disaster, but in your own career, you must always be prepared. You must have contingencies in place in case the unexpected happens. Plan what you will say in certain situations. Plan how you will act in certain situations. For example, outstanding baseball players rehearse in their minds what they’ll do with the ball if it is hit in their direction at any given point in the game. Outstanding salespeople already know how they’ll respond to a wide range of things before those things even occur.
Relentless preparation means that you are mentally prepared for any sort of opportunity or threat that could come flying out of left field at the most unexpected time.
Jeff Beals is a professional speaker and award-winning author, who helps professionals enjoy greater success through effective sales, marketing and personal branding techniques. He delivers energetic and humorous keynote speeches and workshops to audiences worldwide. To discuss booking a presentation, go to JeffBeals.com or email at info@jeffbeals.com or call us at (402) 637-9300.
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